Jane Fonda announces her cancer is in remission: 'So blessed'

Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Jane Fonda celebrated her birthday early this week, announcing that her cancer is in remission.

On her website and social media platforms, Fonda posted, "Last week I was told by my oncologist that my cancer is in remission and I can discontinue chemo. I am feeling so blessed, so fortunate. I thank all of you who prayed and sent good thoughts my way. I am confident that it played a role in the good news.

I'm especially happy because while my first 4 chemo treatments were rather easy for me, only a few days of being tired, the last chemo session was rough and lasted 2 weeks making it hard to accomplish much of anything."

The Hollywood icon turns 85 on Dec. 21.

She announced the diagnosis of non-Hodgkins lymphoma in September.

"This is a very treatable cancer," Fonda posted on social media. "Eighty percent of people survive, so I feel very lucky." At the time, Fonda said that she knew how fortunate she was to have the resources to treat her cancer and that she knows it was not the case for everyone.

She added, "We also need to be talking much more not just about cures, but about causes so we can eliminate them. For example, people need to know that fossil fuels cause cancer. So do pesticides, many of which are fossil fuel-based, like mine."

Fonda will need all her energy for an upcoming slate of promotions for two new movies. In February, she and Lily Tomlin, her co-star on the Netflix show Grace and Frankie, will also appear together in 80 for Brady along with Rita Moreno and Sally Field.

Developed by Tom Brady's production company, it follows four 80-year-old friends trying to acquire Super Bowl tickets to see their favorite football star in action. Brady will also appear in the film.

And in March, Tomlin and Fonda will star in Moving On, a revenge comedy also starring Malcolm McDowell and Richard Roundtree.

Fonda, from an acting family that included her father Henry Fonda and brother Peter Fonda, is a two-time Academy Award winner who is also a philanthropist and activist supporting liberal causes.

She was just recently in Washington for the Fire Drill Fridays rally, a movement to spread awareness of climate change.